Project description:The objective was to identify functional genes encoded by Fungi and fungal-like organisms to assess putative ecological roles Using the GeoChip microarray, we detected fungal genes involved in the complete assimilation of nitrate and the degradation of lignin, as well as evidence for Partitiviridae (a mycovirus) that likely regulates fungal populations in the marine environment. These results demonstrate the potential for fungi to degrade terrigenously-sourced molecules, such as permafrost and compete with algae for nitrate during blooms. Ultimately, these data suggest that marine fungi could be as important in oceanic ecosystems as they are in freshwater environments.
Project description:We previously reported that the RNA endonculease HOE-1 (RNaseZ/ELAC2) is necessary and sufficient for activation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) in C. elegans (PMID: 35451962). To comprehensively assess the broader cellular consequences of increased nuclear activity of HOE-1, we conducted RNA sequencing on day 2 adult wildtype animals vs animals in which endogenous HOE-1 is elevated in the nucleus via perturbation of its nuclear export signal (hoe-1(ΔNES)). Additionally, wildtype and hoe-1(ΔNES) animals were grown on both control and atfs-1 RNAi (ATFS-1 is the central transcription factor for UPRmt) to determine gene expression that is atfs-1 dependent. This analysis revealed that differential gene expression in hoe-1(ΔNES) animals exhibits a strong mitochondrial signature. Notably, gene ontology (GO) analysis of significantly upregulated genes showed a significant overrepresentation of mitochondrial associated genes. Moreover, knockdown of atfs-1 strongly compromised the differentially expressed gene profile. Together these data suggest that increased nuclear activity of HOE-1 preferential impacts expression of mitochondrial genes.
